Water-heater.



T. J. RADKE.

WATER HEATER. l APPLIOATION FILED APR.22, 1909.

Patented AugT 19, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

T. J. RADKE.`

WATER HEATER.

APPLIOATION FILED 11.22. 1909.

Patentedvug. 19, 1913.

2 SHEETB-BHEET 2.

m x l M THEODORE J'. RADKE, 01E' OAK PARK, ILLINOIS;

invocata.'

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, THnoDonn` J. RADKE, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Oak Park, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vlater- Heaters; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to automatic water heaters for domestic and like uses wherein the fuel, usually a gas, is automatically supplied to the burner upon the withdrawal of water from the heating receptacle and the admission of cold water thereto, the water being heated by the flame of the burner in its passage through the receptacle and the fuel' being automatically cut olf when the withdrawal of water ceases.

The invention relates more particularly to an improved safety device` whereby the supply of fuel is cut off to the main burner and to the pilot burner in case of accidental extinguishment of the pilot burner flame so as to thereby avoid the waste of fuel and the attendant danger of fuel escaping into the apartment containing the heater. Y

lAmong the objects of the invention is to provide a thermal device, which is under the control of the flame of the pilot burner, of an exceedingly simple, compact and efficient construction, a construction which is very sensitive to the heat of the pilot burner flame so as to produce prompt operatic-n of the safety device when the necessity occurs, and a construction which is strong and durable so as to acteifectively against the strong closing spring of the pilot burner valve. l

Another object of the invention is to provide a connection between the thermostatic member of the safety device and the pilot.

burner valve which is always in position to exert. pressure against the closing spring of the pilot burner valve when the said member is under the influence of the heat of the` A further object of the invention is to.

provide an arrangement in heaters of this kind Vwherein small quantities of hot Water Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented ang. ie, rais.

' Application led April 22, 1909. Serial No. 491,449.

i l may be withdrawn which is heated lby the pilot burner alone and without lighting the main burner, thereby resulting in a material saving of fuel.

Other objects of the invention are to improve and simplify the construction and arrangement of the parts of the heater and to render the construction 'exceedingly compact and the operation thereof simple and ecient. v

The invention 4consists in the matters hereinafter Aset forth and more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1'is a central vertical section of a heater embodying my invention. Fi 2 is a cross section of the u pper'part o the jacket just below the cap, s owing the coils and inlet and outlet pipes in plan view. Fig. 3 is a detail vertical section on line 3--3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on line 4-4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of one of the double helices constituting a section of the circulatory coil. Fig. 6 is a detail illustrating the manner of joining one of the coil sections to a like coil section.

rll`he casing or shell of the heater comprises al cast metal section 10, which is supported on the base `11, an upper jacket section 12 and a c ap portion 13. rllhe section 12 of the casing, when made to constitute a water jacket may comprise inner and outer thin sheet metal walls which incloses an annular Water space 15. Contained within the lower section 10 of the casing is a horizontal'burner ring 17 which supports and is in communication with a plurality of upright burner tubes 18, 18 which may be made of any suitable or preferred con struction. The burner ring is provided at one side with an inlet nipple 20 which communicates with a gas supply pipe 21 through the medium of a conduit, designated as a whole by 22, which latter is made up.- of a number of suitably connected pipe sections and valve fittings, as will herein- Said valve casing communicates, as herein shown, wit-h the annular water spaceel of the heater casing through the mediumrof a pipe 27 wfhich communicates with a port 28'at the lower side of said valve casing. A piston valve 29 is locatedwithin the cas ing 26 between the inlet or service pipe 25 and -the port 28 and controls the supply of water to the circulatory system of heater. The piston valve is forced inwardly by the pressure of the water in pipe 25 when the pressure on the other side ot the piston lvalve is reduced by the withdrawal of water from the outlet side of the circulatory system, and when said piston valve passes ,the port 28 water is free to flow from the service pipe 25 to the circulatory system as will hereinafter appear. A by-pass 31v connects the inner and outer ends of the cylindric valve casing 26 so as to equalize the pressure on the opposite sides of the piston valve to allow` the valve to open and close promptly.

The conduit 22 is provided with a main valve 35, which controls the passage of gas to the main burners, and above said main valve'with a pilot valve 36 which controls the supply of gas to the pilot burner, and is lalso arranged to cut off gas from both the pilot and main burners. Y35 is provided with a ported partition, the port of which is controlled by .a conical valve disk 38 provided with a stem 3Q that extends outwardly through a stuffing box 40 of the valve casing. Said valve disk is held to its seat by a spring 41, interposed between the saine and a screw-threaded plug 42 on the inner side of the valve casing.

.The said valve disk is opened against the action of the spring 41, by means of a vertically swinging lever 43 which is operatively connected with and is controlled by the water inlet valve. Said lever 43 is pivoted between its ends to a plug 44 that is screw threadedto the outer side of the pilot valve casing 36. The said lever carries at itslower end a screw threaded adjusting lug 45 having a rounded head which bears against the outer end of the stem 39 of the main burner valve disk 38. At its upper end said lever 43 carries a loosely fitting collar 47 that has screw-threaded connection with the outer end of the stem 30 o1" burners, and when the water valve closes the gas valve is closed by its 'spring 41.

50 designates a pilot burner located with- 1n the casing section 10, below the level of the heads-of the main burners 18, The mixing tube 51 of said pilot burner is supplied with gas through a pipe 53 which enters the conduit 22 between the main and pilot The main valve guided in its swinging movement.

burner valves. Said pipe is provided with therethrough. The pilot valve casing is provided with a ported partition, the portv of which is controlled by a conical valve disk 56 that is held against its seat'by a spring 57 which is interposed between said disk and the screw threaded ,plug 44 before referred to. The said valve disk 56 is provided with a stem 60 which extends inwardly through a stuiiing box at the inner 4side of the casing. Referring now to the means whereby the said pilot valve is maintained normally open to admit of a supply of gas to the pilot burner, and to the arrangement for automatically closing the pilot burner valve when the pilot burner is extinguished, said parts are constructed and operate as follows: designates a horizontally arranged thermostatic 'bar located above the pilot burner. It may along side the casing section 10 and engages near its lower end an inwardly cxtending lug on a lever 71 arranged out" side of and generally parallel with a lever 68. The lever 71 is pivoted at its lower end to an arm or bracket 72 extending laterally from the lower casing section, said lug 70 being located near the pivoted end of the lever 71. The lever 7l carries at its upper end a screw threaded contact stud 74 having at its outer end a rounded head which engages the inner end of the stem 60 of the pilot valve disk 56. The upper end of the lever 71 extends into a slotted portion of the supporting bracket 21 whereby it is The pivot bracket 72 of the lever 71 may be likewise slotted to engage and guide the lower end of the leven 68.

The compound system of levers described and the thermostatic'member 65 are so arranged and adjusted that when the pilot light is burning and its llame is impinging against the thermostatic member, the pilot burner valve will be held open sufficiently to supply gas to the pilot burner, and also to supply gas through the main valve to the main burners. Then no water is being drawn from the circulatory heatingcoil, the main burner valve will be closed and thel only gas supplied will be through the pilot valve, regulated by the throttle valve 54 in the pipe 53. I n the event oi accinordsee dental extinguishment of the pilot light, the thermostatic member "65 will vbecomeF cool and will contract to allow the spring 57 to close the? pilot burner valve, and thereby avoid the wasteful and dangerous escape of gas at such time. Not only is gas prevented from escaping through the pilot burner,'but gas isat such time shut off from the main burner valve in case such valve be To light the pilot burner the pilot valve may be held open temporarily by pressure applied to the lever 71 and until the the-rmostat 65 becomes heated suiiciently to hold the pilot valve open.- The arrangement described of the thermostat 65 and the compounded levers 68, 71, directly interposed between the thermostat-*and the pilot burner,

valve, provides for an amplel movement o the valve to admit gas to the pilot burner with a slight expansion of the thermo-stat. Therefore the thermostat will take prompt control of the pilot valve when the pilot burner is first lighted so that itis necessary to manually hold the `pilot valve open but a few seconds when lighting the pilot burner. Moreover the thermostatic action is applied directly to the valve so that the valve cannot. close as long as the pilot burner is lighted.

Referring now to the arrangement of the circulatory coils, in which the water is heat'- ed as it passes therethrough and from which the hot water is drawn, the same is made as follows: rlhe said coils are contained within the jacketed section 12`of the heater casing and, as herein shown, comprise `a plurality.

of superposed sections, each consisting of two double helices consists of an upper member 81 and a lower an member 82 as shown in Fig. 5. The two helical coils of each section are nested together with the turns of their coils alter nating. The said superposed helices are connected at their sides by unions 84;, as shown nected as described, are arranged symmetrically within the heater casing about a central vertical tube or pipe 86 that is supported at itslower end on a post or standard 87 rising from the base 11 of the casing, and connected to the pipe by a screw-threaded sleeve or junction fitting 88. The'said pipe 86 is provided with a plurality of superposed sets of radial downwardly and outwardly inclined supporting arms 90 which are attached at their inner ends, to collars 91 xed to said pipe 86 and extendat their outer ends to points near the.. casing wall. The lower members 82 of the helical coil sections rest on and are supported by the said arms 90, While the upper sections 81 are supported from the lower sectionsby reason of their integral connectionv therewith. .Each branch of the coil thus arranged is connected 65 at its upper end to a cross pipe 93, which opened by the opening of the water valve.`

80. Each double helixIk more clearly in Fig. 6. The said coils con-1 latter is connected by a pipe 94 with the water space 15 of the section 12 of the heater casing. rlhe point of connection of said pipe 94 with the'cross pipe 93 constitutes the dividing point of a branched circulatory system, and from this point the water circulates downwardly through the two branches of the coils toward the burners. Said two branches of the coils communicate at their lower ends with terminal pipes 96, 97, said pipes leading from the opposite sides of the coils. The pipe 96 eX- tends radially inwardly and thence upwardly along side the central coil supporting pipe 86 and terminates at its upper en in a horizontal draw off pipe 99 whichl leads to a faucet 100. The terminal pipe 97 extends downwardly and thence radially inwardly and thence upwardly along side the post or standard 87, and its upper end communicates with a radially arranged return members 101, 102. The terminal end of said return bend enters the sleeve or fitting 88 that connects the 1- central coil supporting pipe 86 with its supporting standard 87, and communicates through said sleeve or fitting with the pipe 86. 'llhe pipe 86 is provided at its u per end with a fitting 103 having a latera branch 104 that communicates with a draw 0H pipe 105 that is arranged generally parallel with thedraw 0H pipe 99. Said pipes 105 and 99 have looped connection with the draw oil faucet 100. lt will thus bev seen the pipe 94 passes downwardly through the separate coils, and that the water from one of the coils or branches passes upwardly through the terminal pipe 96 and draw off pipe 99 to the faucet 100, while water from the lower end of the other coil or branch passes through the terminal pipe 97, through the members 101, 102 of the return bend, the coil supporting pipe 86 and draw ott plpe 105 to the faucet. Thus when water is being drawn from the faucet the flow of water. divides at the point of connection of the pipes 94. and 93 and passes through the two branches of the coils to the faucet in parallel with said pipe 94 and faucet 100. 'With this 'arrangement' I may make the coils of smaller cross` section and thereby promote the rapid transmission of heat to the water, while avoiding resistance to the passage of water, such as would occur if Water were passed through a pipe of like diameter and of a length equal to the combined lengths of the two branches. nstead 'of connectlng lthe coils with the source of cold water supply through the water space 15 of the Jacketed casing l with thel pipe 27.

lt will be observed. by reference to Flg. 3 that the pilot burner head is provided with a central opening immediately beneath the bend, consisting of two generally horizontal that water entering the divided coils from.

may connect said coils directly thermostatic member 65 and with two side openings arranged to direct flame against the members of the loop or return bend.

The provision of the divided or branched circulatory coils within the heater casing, connected at one side with the service water pipe and at its other side with the draw off faucet, provides within the heater (when no Water is being withdrawn therefrom) a closed loop through which-the water may circulate, and the arrangement of the pilot burner adjacent to the lower part of this loop provides means for maintaining a circulation of water in said loop and for keeping the water vwhich circulates through the loop heated. This arrangement is of great practical advantage inasmuch as the water at the faucet is always heated so that the first water drawn oli' from the faucet is hot water. While the water isdrawn ofi' from the coils cold water enters the coils and said cold water is heated as it passes through the branches of the coils. There is therefore an uninterruption of the flow of hot water from the faucet from the time the faucet is opened to draw the water from the device until` the faucet is closed after the withdrawal of all `the water required. The branches of the coil `are connected in parallel with the cold water pipe and draw off de 'vice so that the flow of water through the heater, when water is being withdrawn, is divided in a manner to most advantageously apply the heat of the burner to the w'ater to heat thesame. The arrangement is such, however, that when` the dra olf device is closed, the branches of the coil are connected in series, so that the branches constitute the closed loop referred to through which the water is-constantly circulating past ,the draw oil' device and the pilot burner and is maintained heated so as to provide heated water at the draw oil" device at all times.

v The horizontally arranged delector 10S is shown as supported on the coil supporting pipe 86 a distance above the bottom coils to deflect the lla-mes outwardly over the inclined nest of coils and prevent them passing centrally upwardly through the casing around the said pipe 86.

Means are' provided for maintaining a substantially uniform temperature of water drawn from the device while the faucet is open for that purpose. Said meansv embraces a thermostatic member that is exposed to the heat of the outflowingv hot water, and which is connected with and con* trols the supply of gas to 'the main burners. My improved arrangement for effecting this result is madey as follows: 110 designates a thermostatic bar, made preferably of zinc, that is contained within the hot water outflow pipe 86. It" is seated at its lower `end on the upper end of the standard 87 and extends at its upper end through a stulling l box in the fitting 103 at top ofsaid pipe 86. The bar engages at itsupper end the underside of a vertically swinging lever 112 which is pivoted 'at one end to a bracket 113 supported on said fitting 103.- The lever 112 bears at its other end against the under side of a second lever 114C. which is pivoted at one end to a bracket 115 supported on the fitting 103. Said latter lever extends at its other end outside the casing through a opening vlevers 112, 114 as to close the valve disk 118 against its seat upon the rising of the temperature of the outflowing hot water above a predetermined pointywhile allowing the valve-to remain open to permit gas to be supplied to the main burners up to the prescribed or normal temperature at which the water is intended to be delivered from the heater. A spring 125, interposed between -the upper side of the lever 114 and a nut 126 screw-threaded to the upper end of rod 11,6, provides means for regulating the closing movement of said regulating yalve. By proper adjustment of the thermostat in the hot water outlet pipe the valve controlled thereby may be arranged to open only after a predetermined reduction of temperature of the outilowing water, somewhat below the temperature maintained in the coil by the pilot burner, so that small quantities of hot water may be withdrawn from the coil without admitting gas to the main burners. Thus, when small quantities of water are withdrawn .at comparatively infrequent periods, the water may be heated entirely by the pilot burner and without lighting the main burner, thus resulting in a material saving of` gas.

The cap piece 13 is provided at its top with an opening 130 for the outlet of the products of combustion, over which a-pipe` is adapted to be set. In order to prevent cold air ,from falling downwardly through said opening upon the coils I provide the cap piece at its sides witha plurality of openings 131, and arrange between the outlet opening 130 and said side opening 131 a deflector plate 132which deliects air falling downwardlyl through the opening 130 to located within a valve casing and through the radial or side openings 131.

The water space 15 is dividedv by a parti# tion or4 partitions arranged to direct the water on its way from the pipe 27.to the v pipe 94 through restricted passages around the j acketed section 12. As herein shown a spiral passage is thus formed by a spirally,

arranged partition 135 which extends from the bottom to the top of said water space.

The construction and arrangement of the circulatory tubes within the casing is not herein claimed, this being` the subject of a separate application for United States Letters Patent, lSerial Number 512,941, filed August 16, 1909, a division of this appli cation.

llt will be understoo-d that the structuraldetails of the heater and its regulating devices may bevaried within the spirit and scope of the invention and l do not limit the invention to the details herein shown, eX-l,

pilot burner valve, a pipe leading from the conduit at a point between said valves to the pilot burner, a short` thermostatic bal' over the pilot burner, a` thrust member to receive one end of the thermostatic bar, and means between the other end of the said bar and said pilot burner valve to transmit continuous variable thrust of said bar directly against the pilot burner valve spring to variably open said valve when the bar is heated .by the pilot burner flame while permitting the pilot burner valve to close upon the extinguishment of said flame.

2. 'In a water heater of the character set forth, the combination with .the mainv and pilot burners,'a conduit for supplying gas thereto, main and pilot burner valves in said conduit, with means to operate the main burner valve, a pipe leading from the conduit at a point between said valves to the pilot burner, a short thermostatic bar over the pilot burner, a thrust member adjacent to said conduit having a seatto receive one end'of the said bar, andconnecting means between the said pilot burner valve and the other end of said bar to transmit continuous variable thrust of said bar directly against the pilot burner valve spring to variably open said valve when the said bar is heated bythe pilot burner iiame, whilevpermitting the pilot burner valve to close upon the eX- tinguishment of said flame.

` 3. ln a water heater of the character set forth, the combination with the main and pilot burners, with mea-ns `for supplying gas thereto, main and pilot-burner valves, with means for operating the main burner valve,

a thermostatic bar over the pilot burner having means to anchor it at one end; a lever pivoted at one end with the other end of said bar bearing thereagainst near the pivot of said lever, a sec'ond lever pivoted at one end and bearing against the pilot burner valve at lits other end, said first lever bearing against the second lever adjacent to the pivot of the latter, and a closing spring applied to the pilot burner valve and acting l against vthe thrust of said thermostatic bar.

4. lln a water heater, the combination with a receptacle having means for connecting it with a source supplying cold water and with a draw o' device, of a main burner, a pilot burner, meansl for supplying gas to said burners, a main burner valve, pressure controlled means operated by the How of water through said receptacle for actuatingsaid main burner valve, a pilot burner valve, a`

thermostatic bar over the pilot burner, a thrust member having a seat to receive one end of said bar, a closing spring for said pilot `burner valve, and connecting means between the said thermostatic bar and said I pilot burner valve having means to transmit continuous variable pressure to said -pilot burner valve against the action of its .closing spring.

5. 1n a water heater, a casing, a vertical pipe located centrally therein, water heating coils arranged in two branches, each branch comprising a series of superposed coil sections, supports carried by said central pipe upon which said coil sections are supported,

a cold water supply pipe communicating with the upper ends ont said branches, the lower endof one coil having an outflow terminal which extends upwardly through the casing and outwardly therefrom for connection with a faucet, and the .terminal of the other branch communicating with the lower end` o said central pipe,\a draw-oi pipe communicating with the upper end of said central pipe and with said faucet,

burners for heatingsaid coil, a conduit for supplying gas to said burners, a regulating valve lin said conduit, 'and a thermostatic member in said central pipe operatively connected with said regulating valve. v

lntestimony that/li claim the :foregoing as myinvention li ax my si @ature in the presence-,oftwo witnesses this 15th day; of April A. 135.1909;v

friinononnfa nanna 

